Brilliant Haunting Apocalyptic Vision

Rating: Null/10 (20 July 2003)

"28 Days Later", while not (as the ads read) scary as hell, is without question one of the most brutal films I have had the pleasure to sit through.
Taking its stylish cues of using brutally horrific images and themes to illustrate situations in society from Romero's "Dead" trilogy, that's as close to GAR as director Danny Boyle gets.
Plotline concerns a group of primates in an English testing facility being infected with "rage". Whether this is an actual viral situation or simply the results of constant exposure to violent images is left (quite correctly) to our imaginations, when the animals are released by a group of animal rights activists, they attack their "rescuers", releasing the horror on England. 28 Days after this event, a young bike messenger, Jim (brilliantly played by Cillian Murphy) awakens from an accident induced coma to find that nothing is close to the way he left it. London, and all of England is empty. Save for the infected and a few animals...nothing lives. He eventually stumbles on a group of survivors (Naomie Harris and Noah Huntley) and after them a father and his daughter (the incomperable Brendan Gleeson and a wonderful Megan Burns). They have discovered a looping radio signal from a group of soldiers in the north, and set off for safety. Or is it?

All, of course, is not as it seems with the troops, and thus begins a final fight for survival.
This look at how mankind reacts to events we seem unable to control is scathing and relentless. In a frigid theater I was soaked in sweat by the time the end credits rolled. Symbolism is everywhere, and I especially liked the use of the all white room on the ground floor of Jim's hospital representing the vast emptyness he will experience, and the black payphones showing the bleakness of trying to communicate. Wonderful images, and those are simply my favorite examples.
Supporting cast is astounding, in particular Christopher Eccleston as a manical Major Henry West. I bought his bizarre behavior and completely loathed the character. He really sold the part.
"28 Days Later" deserves the hype and wonderful reviews it's been getting. This film will polarize those to see it. You will love it or hate it, there is no inbetween. This is also not a hollywood gorefest, it's entirely too intelligent a movie.
Can you take what happens "28 Days Later"?
4 1/2 out of 5